Punches and hammerfists brought forth the stoppage 91 seconds into
round two. Rivera (20-9, 9-6 UFC), who turns 40 next month,
announced his plans to retire, win or lose, prior to the bout.

“I’m grateful,” he said. “I’ve met a lot of good people. It’s been
a great trip. It’s been really good to me.”

Schafer controlled the first round with a pair of takedowns and
some mild ground-and-pound. Rivera, however, was not deterred. The
Framingham, Mass., native turned the tide with a hammerfist early
in the second period, as Schafer clung to his ankle in desperation.
The Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belt retreated, with Rivera in hot
pursuit, perhaps sensing his opponent, now bloodied, was damaged
goods. Punches and hammerfists followed, and, with Schafer (12-7-2,
3-6 UFC) failing to properly defend himself, referee Herb Dean
intervened.

“He’s a strong guy. I was watching him in the back, and he had a
real tough [weight] cut,” Rivera said. “I knew the longer the fight
the fight would go, he would have a hard time. I could feel him
breathing harder and harder.”

Nurmagomedov, 17-0, Dazzles in UFC
Debut

Undefeated Russian prospect Khabib
Nurmagomedov submitted former
WEC headliner Kamal
Shalorus with a third-round rear-naked choke in a 155-pound
undercard matchup. Shalorus (7-2-2, 0-2 UFC), who had never before
been submitted, asked out of the fight 2:08 into round three.

Nurmagomedov (17-0, 1-0 UFC) floored the Iranian with a beautiful
counter left hook in the first round and swarmed with punches and
hammerfists. Though his efforts came up short, the damage was done
and Shalorus was never the same. From there, Nurmagomedov attacked
with series of single-leg takedowns and multi-punch combinations on
his rattled foe.

In the third round, he put Shalorus on the ground, shrugged off an
attempted guillotine, passed to side control and transitioned
immediately to mount. Shalorus yielded his back and, soon after,
succumbed to the choke. A world sambo champion, Nurmagomedov has
finished nine consecutive opponents.

“I was a bit cautious. I had a strategy that I devised back home
with my father,” Nurmagomedov said. “I definitely had butterflies
today, but, with the help of God, I was able to get it done.”

Brenneman Outduels Roberts in Ground
Battle

AMA Fight Club standout Charlie
Brenneman struck for multiple takedowns, passed guard at will
and avoided deep submission attempts in the second and third rounds
en route to a unanimous decision over Daniel
Roberts in a preliminary welterweight matchup.

All three judges ruled in favor of Brenneman (15-3, 4-2 UFC):
30-27, 30-27 and 29-28.

“I was able to exploit him on the ground, which I expected,” he
said. “I should have done it on my feet. I apologize for that. I
work every day on [my standup] and try to evolve, but I went back
to what got me here. When I threw it, I hit him and connected. I’ve
just got to open up more on my feet. I’ll get home and get up early
on Monday and go to the gym and keep it going.”

Brenneman was in top form for much of the fight, as he attacked
Roberts with a relentless pace on the ground. Twice he trapped the
Cesar
Gracie Jiu-Jitsu representative in the mounted crucifix
position, and, although the damage he exacted was limited,
Brenneman established himself as the superior fighter and slowly
wore down Roberts (12-4, 3-4 UFC).

Still, the sailing was not all smooth. Roberts threatened “The
Spaniard” with an inverted triangle choke in the second round and a
tight kimura in the third. Each time, the horn sounded and saved
Brenneman from further trouble. The 30-year-old Hollidaysburg, Pa.,
native has won 10 times in 12 outings but has yet to finish an
opponent in the UFC.

“If I want to get on top and get on TV, I’ve got to start
finishing,” Brenneman said. “That’s something I put on me, and I
will do it.”

Hayden Taps to Camoes Choke

Well-traveled Brazilian export Fabricio
Camoes picked up his first win inside the Octagon, as he
submitted Tom Hayden
with a first-round rear-naked choke in a preliminary lightweight
duel. The tapout came 4:03 into round one.

Hayden (8-1, 0-1 UFC), a Jorge Gurgel
protégé, started strong with a couple of counter right hands, an
effective sprawl and solid submission defense. Through much of the
first half of the first round, he generally made life difficult for
the favored Camoes (14-6-1, 1-1-1 UFC).

However, the seasoned Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belt sprang a slick
reversal on the ground, delivered a wild running standing-to-ground
hammerfist and seized Hayden’s back, hooks in. Not long after,
Camoes landed the choke and, following a brief but fruitless
struggle, Hayden succumbed to the hold. The 33-year-old Camoes will
carry a three-fight winning streak into his next appearance.

“I was really surprised that Thomas came straight to the striking,”
Camoes said. “I was a little bit off. I was training for a
right-handed guy, and he came out southpaw. That surprised me a
little bit. I think on the ground I’m pretty good, and I wanted to
get this win for my family.”

On the heels of a crackling leg kick and stout left hook, Pineda
(16-7, 1-0 UFC) bullied into the clinch, secured a takedown and
moved immediately to full mount inside the first minute. The
26-year-old native then let loose with punches from the top,
forcing Schilling to his stomach. More punches followed, and, as
Schilling (5-1, 0-1 UFC) stood in one last act of desperation,
Pineda cinched the choke. The tapout came soon after, giving Pineda
his sixth straight victory.

“I was just going to push him, because he’s never been in with a
good guy,” Pineda said. “He’s always fought guys who don’t have
good records. I had to push him and get him out of his zone.”

Denis (11-2, 1-0 UFC) was ruthless with his attack. The 28-year-old
Canadian battered Sandoval (6-2, 0-2 UFC) with crisp, clean
combinations, pulled him into the Thai plum and unleashed with
elbows behind the ear in the center of the Octagon and finished it
in less than half a minute. Denis has won four of his last five
fights.

“I wanted to come out strong with my strikes,” Denis said. “The
game plan was eventually to take it to the ground because I felt
his weakness was his grappling, but once I landed a couple of
punches, I saw he didn’t react very well to it. I knew he was hurt,
and I finished it.

“I had him kind of in a Thai clinch and I was going to throw a
knee, but I saw he was open for the right elbow,” he added. “I
threw it, and he was obviously hurt. I threw a few more and down he
went.”